Show off your ANGLER FISH!

[lubeck]

Love this thread. I know this is cheating but I just put this in my office.

 

[megrim]

Congrats on the 4 years. The longest I've kept one is 3 years. I have a question about the feedings. You said you feed whitefish (grocery store fish?) , shrimp (what kind of shrimp? Like cocktail shrimp?), thawed freshwater feeders (you buy live feeders and freeze them?). I want to learn for the next one.

By white fish I mean I cut chunks of frozen grocery store bought fish, usually tilapia. The shrimp are large, frozen prawns with shells and tails, I like to stuff pellet food under the shells for a bit of extra nutrition. The freshwater feeders are smaller, sometimes spiny eels and the like purchased from Asian supermarkets.

I'm lucky in that she'll eat almost anything, though she'll sometimes go off one certain type for a month or two, I can always get her to take something.

 

[megrim]

I'll upload a feeding video once I figure out how.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Love that lure action. How big was that fish compared to her? Great Video!!!

 

[GHOSTLY]

Do frogfish count?

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Do frogfish count?

Yes, anglers/frogs are mostly synonymous. I'll have to show off my little guy, if I can get a picture of him!

 

[MTM]

Do frogfish count?

No, they're terrible at math.

 

[Karen00]

I'll upload a feeding video once I figure out how.

Wow! That is amazing to see! I don't know that I have seen one use their lure before. Like @DeniseAndy asked, how big was that fish compared to her? Also, how long do you wait before feeding them again after a meal like that? I can't get over how quickly she sucked that fish in!

 

[Karen00]

Yes, anglers/frogs are mostly synonymous. I'll have to show off my little guy, if I can get a picture of him!

I would love to see pics of your guy. It's amazing to see the number of creatures (land, water, air) that seem to have travelled a different evolutionary path than the rest of earth's inhabitants. These guys fall into that category.

 

[Karen00]

Do you think the angler fishing sport was name after these guys or were these guys named after the sport or no connection? I don't know when these guys were first discovered.

 

[megrim]

Do frogfish count?

In my part of the world an angler is what I posted, I think it's called a Frogfish mostly in the States? Though I've seen both used in Europe interchangeably.

 

[megrim]

Wow! That is amazing to see! I don't know that I have seen one use their lure before. Like @DeniseAndy asked, how big was that fish compared to her? Also, how long do you wait before feeding them again after a meal like that? I can't get over how quickly she sucked that fish in!

It's tricky to judge, as the feeder is long and thin and she's a flabby softball, but I'd guestimate around 30% of her body mass in size.

I feed only once every seven days, and this was a larger than usual feed for the video. I'm no scientician, but I think a decent amount of Frogfish/Anglers die from obesity.

They don't put on body fat like mammals do, and being ambush predators they'll happily eat themselves to death if given the chance. Hence all the fatty livers.

You can see similar things with reptilian ambush predators. Power feeding results in super fast growth but higher mortality.

Again, just a theory. I've had some last years and some only a few months in the same conditions and feeding schedules, so I dunno.

 

[Karen00]

It's tricky to judge, as the feeder is long and thin and she's a flabby softball, but I'd guestimate around 30% of her body mass in size.

I feed only once every seven days, and this was a larger than usual feed for the video. I'm no scientician, but I think a decent amount of Frogfish/Anglers die from obesity.

They don't put on body fat like mammals do, and being ambush predators they'll happily eat themselves to death if given the chance. Hence all the fatty livers.

You can see similar things with reptilian ambush predators. Power feeding results in super fast growth but higher mortality.

Again, just a theory. I've had some last years and some only a few months in the same conditions and feeding schedules, so I dunno.

That is amazing stuff! They strike me as snake like where they eat and then don't have to eat for awhile. They're also a bit weird where they don't seem to care if they eat something waaaaay too big for them and they can't digest the food. It's like they're lacking a prey gauge although maybe this isn't that common. They are definitely evolutionary oddballs.

 

[lion king]

By white fish I mean I cut chunks of frozen grocery store bought fish, usually tilapia. The shrimp are large, frozen prawns with shells and tails, I like to stuff pellet food under the shells for a bit of extra nutrition. The freshwater feeders are smaller, sometimes spiny eels and the like purchased from Asian supermarkets.

I'm lucky in that she'll eat almost anything, though she'll sometimes go off one certain type for a month or two, I can always get her to take something.

Your dead food diet is more thought out and contains nutrition from the shells to whole feeders with guts as well as the boost from pellets. I usually include more of a fatty fish but overall a better dead diet than most offer with a minimum amount of thiaminese. The feeding schedule and amount, as you said, also valuable info. Anglers usually do not live long on a dead only diet, but as you prove, can be done if thought out.

BUT the biggest challenge is getting them to eat dead to begin with, or enough variety or the proper foods. So in reality, your situation is a rarity.

 

[megrim]

Your dead food diet is more thought out and contains nutrition from the shells to whole feeders with guts as well as the boost from pellets. I usually include more of a fatty fish but overall a better dead diet than most offer with a minimum amount of thiaminese. The feeding schedule and amount, as you said, also valuable info. Anglers usually do not live long on a dead only diet, but as you prove, can be done if thought out.

She gets a few live saltwater mollies once every few months, but the bulk is dead prey.

With the small whole fish like in video I also get a syringe and pump some Reefroid paste down the throat sometimes. Not so often though as it's algae jet fuel in that tank.

 

[solitude127]

Saltwater feeders are unnecessary; ghost shrimp are also a good choice. Appropriate sized mollies are good but feeder guppies if you need something small, if too large until he gets confidence he may not go for it. Some anglers aren't so aggressive as to chase them down, and just as thier nature, just wait and ambush. My current angler will not eat on demand, sometimes a molly lives with him a couple of days before finally deciding to eat it.

I know this is an older post but I thought that FW feeder like ghost shrimp and mollies weren't good for angler fish because the type of fat that in these feeders? Is my information not correct?

 

[HookedReefing]

His name is Keropi! Currently being weened off of live foods to live and frozen. Loved his sw mollies and fw guppies

 

[HookedReefing]

I know this is an older post but I thought that FW feeder like ghost shrimp and mollies were good for angler fish because the type of fat that in these feeders? Is my information not correct?

A consistent diet of only fresh water feeders is not good for the angler/frog fish as they may develop fatty liver. Ghost shrimp on the other hand are much less nutritious and must be gut loaded prior to feeding.

 

[lion king]

I know this is an older post but I thought that FW feeder like ghost shrimp and mollies were good for angler fish because the type of fat that in these feeders? Is my information not correct?

Here's an older thread of mine, I do have additional info on nutrition since I posted this if you have any questions. Mollies and guppies are brackish fish that is a valuable addition to the diet of predatory fish like anglers; goldfish and rosies are to be avoided. Fatty liver disease in ambush predators many times comes from over feeding and feeding too often, it is very important these fish have a fasting period.

The myth of feeding marine predators fresh water fare

I don't feed goldies or rosies, but all of my 10 predators get a combo of fresh water ghosties, guppies, and mollies. While there may be a foundation of how bad it is to feed goldfish and possibly minnows to your lions, scorps, and anglers; I know people that do and keep their preds for years...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[solitude127]

Here's an older thread of mine, I do have additional info on nutrition since I posted this if you have any questions. Mollies and guppies are brackish fish that is a valuable addition to the diet of predatory fish like anglers; goldfish and rosies are to be avoided. Fatty liver disease in ambush predators many times comes from over feeding and feeding too often, it is very important these fish have a fasting period.

The myth of feeding marine predators fresh water fare

I don't feed goldies or rosies, but all of my 10 predators get a combo of fresh water ghosties, guppies, and mollies. While there may be a foundation of how bad it is to feed goldfish and possibly minnows to your lions, scorps, and anglers; I know people that do and keep their preds for years...

www.reef2reef.com

Thank you for the reply and all of the work you do to keep aquarist informed.